SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State softball improved to 6-16 on the season with a 7-6 midweek walk-off victory over Central Arkansas (8-20) here Tuesday evening in Springfield.
 
What started out as a lopsided game in favor of Missouri State in the early going quickly turned into a back-and-forth scoring battle as the game progressed.
 
Missouri State started the first inning by drawing three consecutive walks to load the bases with no outs. After a force out at home on a fielder's choice and an infield fly, the bases were still full of Bears with two outs. That's when Sidney McLaughlin broke things open with one swing of the bat, sending a grand slam over the fence in left field to make it 4-0 for the home team.
 
The second and third innings were relatively quiet before the scoring frenzy began. Central Arkansas finally got in the board in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs on five hits in the inning to cut MSU's lead to one run. Following just one hit for MSU in the bottom of the fourth, UCA took its first lead of the game in the fifth inning on a two-run homer to left field, giving the visiting Bears a 5-4 advantage.
 
Freshman Kayla Ulrich stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with a runner on first and one out, and responded with a two-run bomb of her own to left center field to give the lead back to Missouri State.
 
UCA wasn't going away easily, though, as the visiting Bears used three hits to score a run and tie the game at 6-6 with one out on the board. After a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position, Mackenzie Chacon and Co. shut down the UCA threat.
 
Missouri State put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth, with Kelsie Lewis knocking a single and Chacon and Olivia Krehbiel drawing consecutive walks to load the bases. But a strikeout ended the inning with the game still knotted at six runs each.
 
Chacon retired UCA in order in the top of the seventh, including a strikeout looking to end the inning, to give Missouri State a chance to walk it off in the seventh. Which is exactly what the Bears did.
 
With one out, Alexis Perales knocked a double to the gap in left center field before an Abby Ford bunt single put runners on the corners for MSU. McLaughlin drew a walk to load the bases before Missouri State walked it off on an Ellie McCoy hit by pitch to win 7-6.
 
McLaughlin led the way for Missouri State, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, a grand slam, a walk and a run scored. Perales and Lewis also collected two hits on the afternoon, while Ulrich was 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
In the circle, Chacon (6-3) earned the victory after hurling 3.2 innings in relief. The junior lefty gave up three earned runs on five hits while striking out one.
 
Missouri State hits the road this week for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Bradley (March 22-24). All three games will stream on ESPN+.